The Amish Quiltmaker’s Unattached Neighbor (The Amish Quiltmaker #6)

Chapter 18

A da winced when Esther brushed the alcohol pad against her open wound. “Ouch, Esther. Do you have to press so hard?”

“I barely touched you,” Esther said. “And if we don’t get it clean, for sure and certain you’ll get an infection. Maybe we should soak it in some apple cider vinegar before putting on a bandage.” Today Esther had a pencil behind her ear, which wasn’t that unusual except that the pencil had a bright yellow pom-pom where the eraser was supposed to be. She looked as if she had a dandelion growing out of the side of her head.

“Does it hurt, Aendi Ada?” Winnie said, childlike concern shining in her eyes.

Ada nodded. “It hurts very bad.” The worst pain she’d ever felt, and it ached clear to her heart. “But don’t worry, it will only hurt for a little while. Your mamm is taking care of me.”

Cathy, Beth, Sadie, Esther, and Ada sat at the kitchen table, all eyes focused on Ada’s palm which looked positively horrible and outrageously painful. She hadn’t realized how bad it was last night, being so caught up in Enos’s kiss and his ultimate rejection. By the time she’d made it to the house, blood was dripping from her fingers, and the heel of her hand was completely numb. Her pillow sported a wide bloodstain that Ada wasn’t sure was washable.

Benny sat on Cathy’s lap, perfectly happy sucking on the beaded chain that held Cathy’s glasses. Junior stood next to Winnie, studying Ada’s hand as if he were a doctor. The table was clear of dishes, but only because Esther had piled all the dirty things in the sink and swiped a rag across the surface before she’d sat down to look at Ada’s injury. It seemed every dish in the house was dirty, but there were three raspberry-dusted cheese logs in the fridge waiting to be taken to Alamosa this afternoon. Gotte had spread the talents around in the family, and Beth’s talent was not cleanliness.

Cathy ran her hand over the top of Benny’s feather-soft head. “Tell me how this happened again?”

Ada sighed. “Enos was trying to save me from a rattlesnake, and he pushed a little too hard. I fell backward and must have met with a piece of glass or a sharp rock.”

Sadie shook her head. “How scary! I’m glad you didn’t get bitten. One time I found a rattler in our potato field, and Dat chopped its head off with a hoe.”

Ada hissed when Esther plucked a tiny piece of gravel from the wound. “I washed it as best I could last night, but it was late and I was tired.” Not that she’d been able to go to sleep. The pain kept her awake most of the night, even in her comfortable, dirt-free bedroom.

“It’s a good thing I came over today so the doctors won’t have to amputate.” Esther set her bloodstained washcloth on the table. “It wonders me if we shouldn’t soak it. Draw some of the dirt out.”

Cathy leaned closer and put on her glasses. Benny reached for the beads. “It’s deep. You need stitches. Esther could give you some.”

Esther raised her hands as if to stop traffic. “No, thank you. I did it once for Ben, and it was very stressful. But something good came out of it. In exchange for stitches, he agreed to ask Linda if he could drive her home. They eventually got married. God works in a mysterious way.”

Winnie took Junior’s hand. “Can we go see the goats, Mamm?”

“Of course. Don’t let Junior pull any tails.” Die kinner walked out the back door hand in hand.

Beth watched them go, then gushed like a chocolate fountain. “I’m sorry you almost got bitten by a rattlesnake, but it is very romantic that Enos saved you. It says a lot that he was willing to risk his life for you.”

Ada pretended to concentrate on her injured hand. “I guess it does.” There was no reply on Beth’s side of the table. Ada looked up. Everyone stared at her as if she only had a few days to live. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Beth nudged Sadie’s arm. “I told you. Look how miserable she is.”

Ada frowned. “Miserable? What . . . what are you talking about? I’m just fine except that my hand hurts, and I’m probably going to need stitches.”

Beth acted as if she had Ada’s whole life figured out. “She moved out of the tent last night and back to the house.”

Esther winced. “Oh, dear.”

Ada turned on Esther. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Esther pinned Ada with an intense gaze. “You’ve been committed to that tent for weeks. Even when you didn’t need to keep staying, you kept staying. What happened last night?”

“I told you. I was just about to climb in my tent when I saw the snake. Enos heard me and came running with his shovel. Thank Derr Herr he was there.”

“And?” Esther prodded.

“He got mad at me for sleeping in the tent. He told me to go home and sleep in my own bed.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Beth said. “He tells you that all the time. He’s worried about you.”

That was Ada’s chance to change the subject. “I should have been more careful. I thought snakes would be too scared to come close to my campsite. Did you know it’s illegal to kill a rattlesnake unless your life is in danger?”

Cathy eyed her suspiciously. “What else did you and Enos talk about?”

Ada exhaled a deep breath. These women had stuck by her through a lot of troubles. Beth had made enough goat cheese to feed the entire population of Alamosa, and she’d kept the house running, sort of, while Ada camped. Cathy had driven her hundreds of places, and Esther had helped her make quilts for charity. Not to mention Cathy and Esther had sneaked into the hospital with her and listened to her whine about Enos too many times to count. She owed them her trust. “He said he can’t marry me. End of story.”

Cathy’s eyes grew as round as dinner plates. “Well. That’s a big leap. One minute you’re talking about rattlesnakes and the next minute you’re discussing marriage.”

Esther’s frown etched itself into her face. “ Ach , Ada. What happened? What is he thinking?”

“He’s not thinking,” Cathy said. “It’s typical male behavior.”

Ada was too numb to cry, thank Derr Herr. “He commanded me to go home and sleep in my own bed, and I told him I wasn’t going anywhere because he needed me. Then he accused me of pitying him, and I just came right out and told him I love him. He kissed me.”

Beth squeaked in delight, then clapped her hand over her mouth.

Ada gave Beth the stink eye. “He kissed me, then he told me he would never betray his mother, and then he proceeded to tell me why he wasn’t good enough for me. He ended by saying he just wants to be friends.”

“Oh, dear.”

Beth couldn’t believe it. “He kissed you. He loves you. Surely he told you he loves you.”

Ada searched her memory. “He didn’t. He said I’ve been in his heart from the first day we met, but he didn’t say anything about love.”

“He said you’ve been in his heart? It’s the same thing,” Beth said weakly. Even she wasn’t convinced.

Ada picked up the washcloth and dabbed at her hand. “I don’t think so.”

Sadie didn’t give up. “But he kissed you, Ada. Of course he loves you. Of course he wants to marry you. We’ve all seen it. Go talk to him. Tell him he has nothing to worry about. Of course he’s good enough for you, and you are willing to work things out with his mother. Love will find a way.”

“I won’t do it.”

“You won’t?” Beth asked.

Ada stood and walked to the sink, turning her back on everyone. She couldn’t stand the puzzled stares. She had done the right thing, and she wasn’t going to second-guess herself. “I believe in taking people at their word. Enos believes he’s not good enough for me. Until he learns to love himself, he will never love me enough to fight for me.”

The silence behind her compelled her to turn around. Sadie and Beth were looking at each other in concern, and Esther fingered the pom-pom on the pencil behind her ear.

Cathy nodded as if she was in wholehearted agreement. “You’ve made the right choice. No one wants Tabitha for a mother-in-law. A whole bushel of grief.”

Esther’s mouth fell open. “How can you say that? You invited Tabitha over to quilt later this morning. She’s going to change, and I don’t wonder but she’ll be a delightful mother-in-law.”

Cathy shrugged. “Maybe, but Enos seems more committed to Tabitha than to the woman he loves.”

“He might love me, but it’s not enough.”

Esther went to the sink and put her arm around Ada. “You can’t give up on Enos. He’s been beaten down his whole life, and he’s learned it’s easier to stay quiet, to be a peacemaker, to try to control what he can so he won’t get hurt. He doesn’t know how else to behave. Maybe he won’t fight for you because he doesn’t know how to fight. He certainly doesn’t know how to open his heart to the possibility of love. He probably doesn’t believe anyone could truly love him.”

“Like I said, if he can’t love himself, he won’t find the strength to fight for me, and I’m not waiting around for him to figure it out. I slept in that tent for weeks. That is enough sacrifice for a lifetime.”

“Yes, it is,” Beth said. Beth was sweet like that, always supportive of Ada’s opinion, no matter how adamantly she disagreed. She slid to the other side of Ada and nudged her with her elbow. “We all need to stop picking on Ada.”

Cathy groaned. “Nobody’s picking on Ada. I agree with her. It’s time to forget Enos Hoover and move on to greener pastures.”

Ada didn’t want to move on to greener pastures. She just wanted her life to go back to how it was before she’d met Enos. Unfortunately, she was pretty sure there was no going back. Her only regret was that she hadn’t appreciated how gute things had been before Enos came into her life.

Enos had spoiled her for regular days. And special days. And holy days.

She’d love him forever and be ferociously mad at him for even longer.